Falling Is Like This
by desolate butterfly
Summary: A series of SasuNaru and NaruSasu fics, ficlets, and drabbles in no particular order. Just posted: Orestes Stranded
1. Sleep Habit

**  
****Title:** Sleep Habit  
**Author:** Desolate Butterfly  
**Pairing:** Sasuke/Naruto  
**Genre:** Humor/Romance  
**Rating:** PG 13  
**Summary:** Uchiha Sasuke does _not_ cuddle, and those who say otherwise are a bunch of lying liars.

_**Sleep Habit**_

Sasuke didn't cuddle. He didn't cuddle or snuggle or any other word ending in "uggle" that you could think of. It was understood that any physical comfort given would come in the form of the one-armed manly hug, or the casual lean against the shoulder. Or comforting jabs to the ribs with an elbow. Sasuke preferred comforting jabs to the ribs. He was best at those.

But cuddling was forbidden in the Uchiha household, even post-orgasm cuddling, because the weight and the stifling heat of another body on top of him made Sasuke feel trapped. And trapped Uchihas bite and stab with kunai hidden behind pillows and such.

No, Sasuke didn't cuddle, which is why his nightly habit of wrapping around Naruto in a tangle of naked limbs could not be called 'cuddling' in any sense of the term. There was no "comfort" involved. Naruto's shoulder blades were pointy and dug into Sasuke's chest sometimes. Blonde spiky hair tickled his nose in an always irritating way. Naruto's feet were always cold, and the rest of him was always unbearably hot, like sleeping next to a furnace. And sweat would form on Sasuke's chest and neck and back, making him wet and slippery and uncomfortable.

This was not cuddling. This was _restraint_: because Naruto, like any irritating dolt, was a restless sleeper.

If left to his own devices, he would kick, squirm, and change position five million times before settling. And the mattress was _very_ squeaky. Should Sasuke, who was a very light sleeper and woke at every movement Naruto made, have to suffer endless nights of one or two hours of sleep before the moron finally stopped? Of course not.

Finding a solution, however, had been difficult. At first, Sasuke just kicked the idiot out to go sleep on the couch. But he kept sneaking back in and Sasuke found he was getting even less sleep then before, making traps and snares to keep the blond out.

Then Sasuke tried drugging him with sake, which didn't work and made him horny, and a special sleeping pill from Sakura's medicine bag, which worked but made him unable to _get_ horny. The one time Naruto had tried to combine the two methods together--to see if they would counteract each other--ended in a trip to the hospital and a long lecture from Sakura about how stupid both of them were for mixing drugs and alcohol. Sasuke thought this was particularly unfair, because it hadn't been _his_ idea to wash five pills down with a bottle of sake. He'd just watched Naruto do it and silently hoped that it would work.

Tying Naruto up with rope resulted in various odd shaped bruises dotting both their bodies, a broken bed, and the best sex Sasuke ever had until Naruto got his arm free and made it the best sex _he'd_ ever had. The rope was put away for special occasions, like birthdays or when Konoha was having a sale on beds.

So really, restraining Naruto with his own body at night, as uncomfortable as that was, seemed the only solution. With Sasuke's legs entwined with his own, and Sasuke's arms pinning him to the mattress, Naruto didn't move an inch all night, except maybe back a little to press against Sasuke's chest more fully.

Really, it was only a way for Sasuke to get more sleep, and if he breathed in the scent of Naruto's hair it was only because the strands were irritatingly close to his nose. And if Sasuke's arms tightened around him in the night, it was probably because the moron was trying to move. And if Sasuke forgot to shuffle off to his side of the bed as soon as the first watery grey patches of light came shining through the bedroom curtain, signaling the approach of dawn and Sasuke's awaiting ANBU team, it was only because he was not fully awake yet, and not because Naruto's back was so warm and his hips fit perfectly into the cradle of Sasuke's lap.

And it definitely had _nothing at all_ to do with cuddling. So there.

_Fin._


	2. Not the Ichiraku

**Title:** Not the Ichiraku  
**Author:** Desolate Butterfly  
**Pairing:** Sasuke/Naruto  
**Genre:** Humor/Romance  
**Rating:** PG 13  
**Summary:** Uchiha Sasuke does not eat ramen. Especially when it's made by idiots.

--

_**Not the Ichiraku**_

Sasuke looked at the pile of squiggly noodles in a brown, greasy liquid that looked vaguely like something he didn't want to think about in the general vicinity of the dinner table. Well, at least he wasn't hungry anymore.

"What is it?"

Naruto scowled at him over his own bowl.

"It's ramen," he said, as if it should be obvious. It wasn't.

Sasuke poked at a piece of chicken tentatively with his chop stick until it sank back into the brown waters from whence it came. The fact that it didn't cluck back at him didn't reassure him any.

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow at the blonde idiot, but apparently he would have to prompt him if he wanted more information.

"Ramen comes in cups with little pictures of dancing noodles on it," he pointed out. "And freeze-dried pork"

"Not always!"

"When _you_ make it, it does."

Naruto growled in the back of his throat in irritation. It was a sound that Sasuke did not find sexy in the least. Actually it was annoying. Why couldn't the moron express himself without reverting to animalistic grunts all the time? It was something that someone from the cultured and prestigious Uchiha clan should not have to put up with.

"I thought we might try something different, since today is…" Naruto trailed off into a mumble, twisting the fabric of the ridiculous apron he was wearing…why the hell did he have that thing on anyway? And was that the Uchiha mon stitched onto the hem?

"Today is what?" Sasuke replied, somewhat distracted by the thought that Naruto had not only found, but _put on_ his mother's old apron. There were little scorch marks over the chest, and that disturbed him.

'_Of course, it will have to be burned.'_

"…Nothing. Nevermind."

Sasuke sighed and turned back to the bowl in front of him, which seemed to have doubled in size while his attention had been diverted. He frowned and stabbed a chopstick into the bowl, coming up with a sad-looking piece of chicken and some stringy vegetable he couldn't identify.

"I can't believe you tried to cook something and the house is still standing. What the hell kind of ramen _is_ this anyway?"

"Chicken Lime."

Sasuke stared at Naruto for a good long minute before letting the chopstick plunk back into the bowl, splashing some of the broth onto the table.

"Are you _trying_ to poison me?" he asked, incredulous.

"Hey, the recipe looked really good, okay," the blond shot back, glaring at him. "Stop being a dick, Sasuke and just eat it. I worked really hard—"

"And it's still gonna taste like shit," Sasuke sneered. "What the hell were you thinking, moron? I don't even _like_ ramen."

The force of Naruto's fist hitting the table nearly overturned Sasuke's bowl. It _did_ overturn Naruto's which fell to the floor and cracked into a messy pile of noodle, broth, and wet ceramic. Sasuke flinched, but only because a bit of the steaming broth had spilt onto his arm on its way down. Sasuke glared at the spot, as if willing the small burn away with the force of his stare alone. It might have worked too, if Naruto hadn't broken his concentration by yelling.

"You know what, I DON'T know what I was thinking! I must have been CRAZY to think that an ASSHOLE like you could EVER appreciate ANYTHING that's not a good punch in the face," the blond screamed, ripping off the apron and throwing it to the ground.

Sasuke was about to protest the harsh treatment of one of his family keepsakes, but the idiot kept ranting.

"I can't even imagine WHY Sakura thought this would be a good idea—"

_That_ made Sasuke blink in astonishment. _'Sakura told him to do this? And she's usually so intelligent.'_

And the idiot was _still_ ranting. "—thought that people in relationships DO THINGS for each other, but, stupid me, we don't fucking HAVE a relationship, we just have hot sex—"

'_And not nearly enough of it to make this torture worth it,'_ Sasuke grumbled to himself, looking down at his bowl.

Still, it did seem that if he wanted to get more "hot sex" in the near future, he was going to have to attempt to choke down Naruto's creation. And then strangle Sakura.

"—such a prick about EVERYTHING, and you never even think about—"

Sasuke watched Naruto's face flush with the vehemence of his ranting, and noticed the blob of soy sauce that was smudged high on his right cheek.

"—how I feel, having your sulky ass CRITIQUE me every time I—"

"…Naruto."

The blob trickled down a bit towards Naruto's ear. Sasuke tracked it with all the alertness his training afforded him. How could it cling so fast to his cheek when the idiot kept shaking his head around like that? It was so irritating.

"—not like you ever notice when I try to—"

"_Naruto._"

Really, how could the moron be so messy as to get soy sauce _there_. Was he mixing the broth with his face? Did he carry the bowls on his head or something? It boggled the mind. Sasuke couldn't stand looking at it. He had to be cleaned immediately.

"—doesn't mean you get to walk all over…huh?"

The blond finally shut up, which was a good thing because Sasuke wanted a taste of that mouth after he was done licking up the bit of soy sauce that had been bugging him. When he finally pulled away, Naruto looked a bit dazed.

Sasuke mentally revised his list: choke down Naruto's creation, have mind blowing sex, take a nap, and then strangle Sakura.

"Get me a drink, moron."

"Huh?" he said, eloquently.

"A drink," Sasuke said, seating himself at the table once more, picking up his chopsticks. "Ramen is salty."

It took him a few seconds, but when Naruto finally got it, his smile almost made up for the taste of the chicken Sasuke was furiously trying to swallow without chewing. Almost.

"I bought sake too," Naruto said, gleefully rushing off to grab the bottle before coming back to the table to watch as Sasuke carefully choked down the waxy noodles in a too spicy sauce with overcooked vegetables and something that vaguely resembled chicken.

Sasuke went through a lot of sake.

'_This better be worth it,'_ he thought, wincing as something that might have been bone crunched against his teeth.

"So, Sasuke-bastard…aren't you going to compliment me on my cooking skills?"

"Don't push your luck."

_Fin._

_--_

_ AN: Any commentary is much appreciated.   
_


	3. Changes

**Title:** Changes  
**Author:** Desolate Butterfly  
**Pairing:** Sasuke/Naruto  
**Genre:** General/Romance, ficlet, sexy-no-jutsu abuse  
**Rating:** PG 13  
**Summary:** Some things in Konoha change. Some things stay the same.

_**Changes**_

--

At first, when Sasuke opened the door to his apartment to find a buxom, blonde pig-tailed girl, half-naked and wrestling with a pair of nylon stockings in his living room, he had to check to see if he had somehow entered the wrong house.

Then the girl looked up from her task and grinned at him in a familiar, annoying way and Sasuke knew his day was about to get worse.

"Sasuke-kuuun," the girl simpered. "Welcome ho—"

"No," Sasuke interrupted, plunking a set of kunai down by the couch and shrugging out of his shirt. "Absolutely not."

The blonde pouted and her voice lost a bit of its coyness. "Aw, come on Sasuke-bastard. You _said_ you needed a date for this thing."

"If I had wanted to take a girl, I would have asked Sakura."

Naruko rolled her eyes and gave a final yank on her pantyhose. It still sagged a bit at her ankles, and there was a small rip above the left knee which would turn into a gaping hole in about thirty seconds.

"Sakura-chan is going with Fuzzybrows, and it took about twelve-hundred laps around Konoha on his elbows before she said yes, so I don't think he would be too keen on you stealing his date." Naruko followed Sasuke into the bedroom and watched as he took off the various weapons strapped to his limbs and placed them in their proper holders.

"Besides which," the blonde continued, fluttering her eyelashes in an attempt to look seductive, "I make a perfectly cute girl!"

The Uchiha made a sound of derision as he shucked himself of his pants and underwear.

"Says who?"

"Jiraiya," Naruko answered, eyes riveted to her boyfriend's ass as he stalked across the room, unselfconsciously nude. She made a small moue of disappointment as that well-muscled backside was promptly wrapped in a towel and Sasuke turned to glare at her with narrowed eyes.

"Pervert," he muttered.

"Me or Jiraiya?"

"Both of you."

The blonde grinned and moved closer to the barely clothed Uchiha, draping her arms around his neck and making sure to rub her breasts against that strong, bare chest.

"Hey," she smiled, "can I help it if you're standing there, all naked and tempting?"

One of Sasuke's hands wound itself into the butter-coloured tresses trailing over Naruko's shoulders, while the other caressed slowly down the small of the other's back.

"Who's being tempting?" Sasuke murmured, pressing a kiss to the crown of the girl's head.

Naruko reached up on tip-toe in order to direct those lips to a much better place. When they broke the kiss, Naruko's delicate fingers had moved up to cup Sasuke jaw, and Sasuke's hands had moved lower to grope a nylon-covered bottom.

"Admit it, Sasuke," Naruko whispered. "You _like_ me as a girl."

"I like you as a guy better," Sasuke replied, moving back a bit and trying to rescue his towel which was riding dangerously low on his hips at that point. "There are certain perks that go along with having a male body."

Naruko laughed and stepped back. "I knew it," he chortled. "Don't worry bastard, I'll make sure you receive all the effects of my huge **perk** later tonight."

"Tch." Sasuke scowled and stomped off to the bathroom. "You'd better have some balls by the time I get out of the shower, dobe."

"Oh it's not my balls you're after, Sasuke-kun, it's my big, hard—"

The slamming of the bathroom door cut short Naruko's sentence and her ensuing peals of laughter. While Sasuke soaped his skin and sluiced off the dust and sweat that had accumulated on his body during the day, he tried to rid himself of annoying images of Naruto with girl's breasts and a fully male lower-half. Really, the picture shouldn't have been as appealing as his groin was insisting it was.

Sasuke didn't liked girls much, as a rule. They were too soft, too fragile, and too passive for his tastes. But he had to admit that Jiraiya was right: the blonde made a pretty cute girl.

Still, the Military Police banquet invitation had requested that Sasuke bring his spouse, and the closest thing to a spouse Sasuke had, was Naruto. And Naruto was (usually) a man. Even if the rest of the Force wasn't used to seeing Sasuke parade his boyfriend around, he wasn't going to hide Naruto like he was ashamed of him.

Besides which, half of the people turning up to see an Uchiha be restored to the Head of the Police Corps his family had once founded already knew he was with Naruto anyway. And it wasn't like they were unfamiliar with the sexy-no-jutsu either.

His mind made up, Sasuke turned off the shower and exited the bathroom only to find a still female Naruto, dressed in a silvery grey kimono and bright orange haori with koi embroidered on its sleeves, hem, and back. The blonde was currently struggling to tie the matching obi, having given up on the pantyhose altogether in exchange for bright white tabi socks. She perked up as the wet, towel-clad shinobi made his way into the room.

"Oi, bastard, help me out with this, will ya?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and took the obi from Naruto. "Change back," he ordered.

"But…"

"Do it. Or I'm not going and we can just stay here while they banquet without us."

Naruko frowned. "It's a party for you. You can't _not_ be there."

"I can if you don't change back right now."

"Fi-i-i-ne," Naruko huffed, then made the series of hand seals that transformed his body back into the hard, muscled lines of a man. The haori gaped open as Naruto grew a little broader in the shoulders then his previous shape, but his size did not change overmuch. "But now I have to change my clothes."

"Why?" Sasuke asked. "You have a pair of hakama to go with it, right?"

"Y-yeah," Naruto blushed, "but I'm still wearing women's underwear."

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow and smirked at Naruto's embarrassed fidgeting. Still naked and wet from his shower, he took the ends of the obi in his hand and looped the cloth around his boyfriend's neck, using it to pull the other closer.

"Keep those on," he whispered, then left Naruto to gasp quietly in the corner while he put on his formal uniform and accompanying weapons.

When the blonde had finally regained enough composure to speak, Sasuke was already dressed and ready to leave.

"Kinky bastard," Naruto accused weakly, as he pulled on the hakama and slipped his feet into his sandals.

Wordlessly, Sasuke tossed the discarded pantyhose at Naruto's face and watched, amused, as the other man ducked the nylon missile and grabbed his hitai-ate from the dresser.

"Ready, dobe?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Naruto replied, poking the stiff fabric of Sasuke's uniform jacket, catching a knuckle on a brass button.

Sasuke adjusted the brace of kunai tucked into the side of his jacket and took up the decorative katana from its holder by the front door, slinging it loosely across his back.

"I was born ready."

Fin.


	4. Fireworks

_This is a pre-Naruto and Sasuke get together fic, which means they are still quite young, and Sasuke hasn't buggered off to Sound yet. Just for reference. I never put my fics in order XD_

_

* * *

_  
Title: Fireworks  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Genre: Romance/Humour  
Pairing: NaruSasu, SasuNaru  
Rating: PG 13 for language  
Summary: In which Naruto has a concussion and Sasuke is a dick.

* * *

--

Naruto felt the throbbing in his temples long before he registered the fact that he was lying on the ground, the long grass tickling his cheeks and hands. It was pitch black but he could hear someone calling his name. Why couldn't he see anything? Could he be caught in a genjutsu?

"Open your eyes, moron."

_'Oh.' _

Naruto raised his heavy lids just an inch, only to slam them shut once more as a vicious stabbing pain travelled from the back of his skull, to a point right above his right eye. He groaned and put a hand to the spot, gingerly lifting his bangs until he found a large bump, at the edge of the hairline.

"What happened?" he mumbled.

Something nudged his leg—hard—and Naruto winced. '_That would be Sasuke.'_

"You fell out of a tree, idiot." The bastard sounded disgusted and Naruto opened his eyes cautiously, to see if the expression on his face would match. It did.

"I didn't fall out of the damned tree," Naruto replied. He would have scowled, but frowning made his temples throb harder and set off little sparks of colour behind his eyelids and Naruto didn't think that was a good thing.

"Then how do you explain _this?_" A finger tapped against his forehead, making his world explode into painful flashes of light.

"FUCK. Don't _do _that you bastard," Naruto hissed, blindly moving a hand to swat at Sasuke. His stomach roiled and he slumped to the side a bit and dry heaved onto the ground.

Sasuke watched him silently, then got the water pack out of the supply bag Sakura had left them and held the canteen to Naruto's lips.

"Don't gulp it, you'll just throw up," he said, sounding rather detached. But he wasn't moving from Naruto's side, so the blond took that as a good sign. He sipped carefully at the water until his stomach unclenched and his throat stopped trying to crawl up out of his mouth.

He gave Sasuke a small smile when he finished with the water, and pushed the canteen back into Sasuke's hands.

"Thanks."

"Hn." Sasuke took back the canteen with a stony expression and Naruto felt the smile slip from his face.

_'Well fuck you too, bastard.'_

He tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness and nausea quickly made him lie back down.

"Did something attack us?" he asked, fuzzily. "I kind of remember this loud noise and a big ball of fire rushing towards us…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and sat down, loosely clutching the water pack in his hands.

"You _fell_ out of the _tree_," he said, "because some stupid firework spooked you."

"Firework?"

Sasuke angled his chin up a bit and Naruto followed with his eyes until he was staring at the night sky above them. It was a normal looking sky. A few sprinkling of stars, some clouds, thin strip of moon curving at the corner of Naruto's vision. He didn't know what Sasuke was talking abou—

A sudden burst of colour came screaming up over the trees, pinwheels of fire sending sparks shooting through the sky before fading off with a dying whistle. Naruto's eyes widened and he groped for a kunai that wasn't there.

"Holy _shit_. Sasuke where the hell's my stuff? We _are_ under attack…"

He tried to sit up but a hand was suddenly pushing him onto the ground, putting pressure on his chest. Naruto glared up at Sasuke, hands fisting into the grass in an effort not to punch the scowling face above him. He was still seeing double and wasn't really certain the punch would connect anyway.

"What the fuck's your problem?"

Sasuke gripped his shirt a little and shook him. White-hot pain lanced through Naruto's skull and he winced. Immediately, Sasuke released him, but he didn't move far.

"Stay down," the Uchiha hissed. "Don't you listen to a single word I say? You have a _concussion_, idiot. That means you need to rest before you fall down _again_ and make it worse."

"But—"

"We aren't under attack. Haven't you ever seen fireworks before?"

Another burst of colour flared in the sky with a sharp bang, and glittering tails of fire spread out in an arc from its center. Naruto decided it looked kind of pretty for something mimicking a deadly fire jutsu. He dropped the tension in his shoulders and eased back down on the ground, placing a hand behind his neck for comfort.

"Heh...well no, not in person," he explained sheepishly. "I don't really go out to festivals much."

That was true. Naruto tended to stay indoors on nights when the civilians of Konoha roamed the streets. They didn't need a reminder that the kyuubi container was still amongst them, and he didn't need a reminder that a lot of people still hated him and wished he were dead, thank you very much.

He supposed he could have watched the fireworks from the roof of his apartment, but it didn't seem appealing to watch an event you could never really be a part of.

Naruto moved his head gingerly to the side to sneak a peek at Sasuke. The boy was staring somewhere in the vicinity of Naruto's left foot, looking vaguely guilty. Well, he'd have to put a stop to that.

"What festival are they celebrating anyway?" he asked, cheerfully.

Sasuke snorted and drew his legs up to his chest. "Don't you ever read the missions details Kakashi-sensei gives us?"

"Why should I, when you and Sakura-chan 'll just fill in the blanks later?"

"Ch." Sasuke wrapped an arm around his knees and rested his chin against it. Naruto resisted the urge to tell him he looked like a sulky three-year-old. His head wasn't ready for the kind of blunt force trauma that would result from such a statement.

"Star Festival," Sasuke mumbled eventually. "Celebrating the legend of some princess of something."

"Which princess?"

"Does it matter, dobe?"

Naruto smirked in triumph. "You didn't read the missions details either, did you Sasuke? Lazy."

"At least I'm not a totally useless moron who _fell out of a tree_."

"Oi!" Naruto sat upright and quickly regretted it. His vision blurred and nausea twisted in his gut. "Bas…tard," he panted, keeping his breaths shallow so that he wouldn't spew all over himself.

"Lie back down, moron," Sasuke ordered. "If you throw up in this spot I'm not moving you."

"Fuck you," Naruto mumbled, but he slumped back obediently, into the soothing coolness of the grass. His eyes burned and he shut them wearily. Why did Sasuke have to be such a bastard? He could at least _pretend_ like he cared that Naruto felt so miserable.

_'No, showing a little bit of concern might break his face or something.'_ Naruto snorted quietly at the thought and let his head drop to one side so that strands of grass rubbed against his cheek. _'Mmm…nice and cool.'_

"Hey…"

Naruto heard the voice but decided to ignore it. The cool grass felt so good against his sweaty skin and the whistle of fireworks was fading into the background. Maybe he could catch a few winks before Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei came back from their scouting trip…

"_Hey_."

Naruto groaned a little at the irritating buzz that rasped next to his ear. He titled further onto his side, away from it, and nuzzled his face into the grass. If he tried really hard, he could imagine the colours that throbbed behind his closed eyes every few minutes were really dancing bowls of ramen.

_'Mmm, ramen.'_

A hand grabbed at his shirt and he was shaken roughly. Pain exploded out from his temples to the back of his neck as his head thumped on the ground with every shake. Naruto's eyes snapped open and Sasuke's angered face spun dizzily before him.

"_Fuck_," Naruto whimpered, in too much pain to do more than that.

Sasuke seemed to realize that he was making it worse and he stopped shaking him. But he kept a hand on Naruto's shoulder, digging his nails into the fabric of his jacket.

"Don't fall asleep, moron. What part of _you have a concussion_ don't you understand?" Sasuke scolded.

Naruto scowled, baring his teeth. He'd had enough of this shit.

"Look Sasuke, I'm frikken _tired_ okay? My head _hurts_ and your conversation isn't exactly interesting enough for me to want to stay awake. And if you fucking _shake me_ again I'm going to pass out whether you like it or not!"

Naruto shut his eyes again and he waited. After a few moments, Sasuke's hand slid from his shoulder and Naruto sighed. Why did the black-haired boy have to make everything so difficult? He wished Sakura-chan were back. She might yell at him for getting hurt, but she wouldn't keep on hurting him just because she was annoyed.

A noise sounded to Naruto's right, and he guessed that Sasuke was moving back to his usual five-feet-from-anyone-in-the-vicinity position. Which was why he almost choked in surprise when, a second later, something that felt suspiciously like dry lips were being pressed to his own.

His eyes shot open, but Sasuke was already moving away, a small flush on his cheeks. Naruto gaped at him and propped himself up on his elbows.

"W…What the fuck was that for?"

"What was what?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. He wasn't seriously going to try to pretend like he hadn't just done that, was he?

"You _kissed_ me," Naruto accused, sputtering.

"How would you know?" Sasuke mocked, his head lowered so that Naruto couldn't meet his eyes. "I'm not interesting enough to pay attention to, remember?"

"You are _such_ an _asshole_! You know, if my head didn't feel like someone was smashing it with a hammer I'd come over there and…and…_ungh_…"

Naruto swayed on his elbows and fell back against the ground. Sasuke's head shot up and he moved a bit closer, his expression wavering between concern and annoyance.

"What?"

"I…_oh shit_…ugh…" Naruto let his head loll back and frowned, breathing heavily through his mouth. He peeked out from between slitted eyes and saw Sasuke hovering over him, his anxious face a few inches from his own.

Naruto smirked and quickly grabbed the back of Sasuke's neck, forcing his lips down to meet his own. He heard Sasuke grunt in surprise and a pair of strong hands dug painfully into his shoulders, but the other boy didn't pull away so Naruto deepened the kiss, praying that Sasuke wouldn't punch him.

Sasuke lips were dry, but full, and Naruto slid his tongue along them curiously, enjoying the way Sasuke gasped and parted them just a bit. Becoming bolder at the lack of resistance, Naruto pushed his tongue through the part of Sasuke's lips and began to explore the inside of the Uchiha's mouth.

Sasuke made a low noise in his throat that Naruto could feel reverberating in his own. He angled his head a bit and swiped his tongue across Sasuke's, feeling the silky wetness of it, before coming up to stroke the sensitive roof of Sasuke's mouth.

Naruto hummed a bit as he felt Sasuke's fingers bear down on his shoulder hard enough to bruise. He rubbed his thumb against the soft, spiky strands of hair at the nape of Sasuke's neck, smiling when the other boy arched into the touch. He slid his tongue out of Sasuke's mouth and nipped a bit at the other boy's jaw, feeling more dizzy then he had a few minutes ago when he'd tried to sit up. The throbbing in his head had suddenly been replaced with a more insistent throbbing in his groin.

Sasuke shifted against him and Naruto groaned loudly. The sound seemed to snap Sasuke from whatever trance he'd been in and he pulled back with a hiss of air between his teeth.

They looked at each other for a few seconds, a myriad of emotions flashing in Sasuke's eyes, running from wonder and fear to guilt and disgust. Naruto swallowed hard and tried to make a soothing motion with his fingers, which were still gently cupping the back of Sasuke's neck.

The Uchiha stiffened and then abruptly pushed away, stalking over to a distant tree and leaning against it, his back to Naruto.

Naruto cautiously rose to a sitting position, one hand going to his head where the lump was finally receding, and the other going to his mouth. He stroked his own lips softly, trying to catalogue the taste of Sasuke on them. It was a flavour he couldn't really describe, but it was one he wanted more of if he could have it.

He looked across the clearing at the rigid line of Sasuke back and sighed. He had a feeling he wouldn't be getting close enough to wrestle another kiss from Sasuke for a very long time.

_'Difficult_,' Naruto thought to himself, shaking his head. Sasuke's ears and the back of his neck were flushing a nice pink colour and Naruto smiled. _'Hot though. Definitely hot.'_

When Kakashi and Sakura found them a few minutes later, Sasuke was still faced away from Naruto against the tree. Naruto greeted them enthusiastically and listened to Sakura's excited ramblings about the festival attractions and the deal she had been able to strike with an innkeeper for a reasonably cheap room for the night that was close to where their mark was staying, but he kept one eye on Sasuke who was doing his best to ignore everybody.

Sakura didn't seem to notice the extra tension, but Kakashi looked at the two boys suspiciously.

"Something happen while we were away?" he asked casually, bringing a familiar orange book out of his pack and beginning to flip through it.

"No," Sasuke replied, sulkily, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Just some fireworks, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto added, catching Sasuke's eyes with his own and swiping a thumb across his lower lip. He grinned as Sasuke's eyes widened and chuckled softly to himself.

_This isn't over, Uchiha.'_

--

Fin.

* * *

_Any commentary is much appreciated._  



	5. Sea Glass and Second Chances

_A little Sasuke-returns-to-Konoha what-if for the summer. Watch out for extended metaphors. _

* * *

Title: Of Sea Glass and Second Chances  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Genre: Humour, Romance  
Pairing: SasuNaru, NaruSasu  
Rating: PG 13  
Summary: In which Sasuke has doubts and Naruto has none.

* * *

-- 

Sasuke felt the wet sand squish between his toes and scowled.

He didn't _do_ beaches. He didn't do sunshine (the redness that was beginning to creep down his neck and bare back was testament to that), and he didn't do swimming (he preferred to walk on top of the water, thank you very much), and he certainly didn't do seashell hunts.

So why was he there?

"Come on, bastard. Keep up!"

Naruto was further up the strip, pants rolled up to the knee, shirt tied loosely around his waist as he fished around the shallow water. Every so often he would come up with a sand-covered rock or broken oyster-shell which he washed, examined, and then threw back. He wasn't sunburnt at all. Actually, he had a nice golden brown tan and Sasuke wanted to slit his throat with a kunai for that.

"Why are we here?" Sasuke said, coolly and calmly and definitely not whining. Not at all.

"Don't pout Sasu-_chan_." Naruto bent to scoop up another broken shell and Sasuke restrained himself from kicking the nice round target that was presented to him. Barely.

"We're here because I wanted to go to the beach, and _you're_ not allowed out without an escort, and _nobody_ can put up with your sulky self except me an' Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei, and it's Sakura-chan's day for rounds at the clinic, and Kakashi-sensei had a mission," the blond continued.

Since Sasuke could think of nothing to say to that, he scowled harder and dragged his feet through the waves, shaking off the clinging strands of seaweed as he went. He'd only been back in Konoha for a month, and already he felt like running away again.

People looked at him with suspicion, he wasn't allowed anywhere without an escort, and he had been bumped back down to genin level, which meant that any missions that came his way were horrid wastes of his skill.

He'd chased so many damn cats down out of trees and bought so many groceries for old biddies that he was beginning to go stir crazy, so when Naruto suggested an outing, he had leapt (nonchalantly, of course) at the chance. But why, oh why did the blond have to choose the beach as their destination?

A crab skittered across the sands in front of Sasuke and he watched it with suspicion. It would be just his luck to get pinched by something he used to have for lunch before his budget got absurdly low.

"Hey, hey Sasuke!" Naruto was suddenly bounding up to him, splashing cold water all over Sasuke's pants and chest. Sasuke glared at him, but he paid no attention and shoved something small and green under Sasuke's nose.

"Look what I found! Isn't it pretty?"

Sasuke jerked back, pushing the blond boy away.

"Moron," he hissed. "You got me all wet!"

"It's a beach Sasuke," Naruto said, rolling his eyes. "You're supposed to get wet. Anyway, look at this! I can't believe I found it!"

Sasuke looked. Then he snorted.

"It's just a piece of sea glass, idiot. Don't act like you found a hidden treasure or anything."

"What do you mean?" Naruto sounded vaguely offended. "This _is_ treasure. I can't wait to show Sakura-chan! Maybe she'll make it into a bracelet for me…"

"It's junk," Sasuke said, harshly. "Some broken piece of bottle that someone threw away. Some useless thing that nobody wants."

"It's not useless!"

"It _is_ useless!" Sasuke snatched the piece of glass out of Naruto's hands and gripped it tightly in his fist, the dull, smoothed corners fitting softly into his palm. "At least before it was sharp. It could have been a weapon. Now it's just trash."

Naruto frowned and grabbed at Sasuke's wrist, trying to pry his fingers from the glass. They fought for a few moments, with Sasuke kicking at Naruto's legs, while the other boy twisted the skin of his wrist to make him drop the fragment.

Finally, Naruto managed to take back his treasure with a well placed elbow to the gut. He cradled the sea glass to him and backed up a bit, while Sasuke coughed and hunched over on his knees. Both boys were utterly soaked.

"Who the hell cares what you think anyway," Naruto yelled at him. "I think it's awesome and I'm going to take it home to Sakura-chan and wear it and there's nothing you can do about it!"

Sasuke got his breath back and straightened, lunging forward to grab Naruto by the shoulders. He shook him roughly, saltwater streaming from his wave-soaked hair into his eyes, dripping off his chin.

"What if it doesn't _want_ to be your bauble, huh!" Sasuke's nails dug into Naruto's biceps. "Did you even think about _that_, dobe? Maybe it was _just fine_ being a weapon before the stupid sea got at it and rubbed all the edges off."

Naruto's eyes widened in confusion. He blinked up at Sasuke, licking seawater from his lips with an unconscious movement that made the dark-haired avenger grit his teeth.

"What are you talking about?" the blond muttered. "Glass can't _want_ anything. It's not a _person_, stupid."

The confusion quickly turned to worry as Naruto placed a damp palm on Sasuke's forehead.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked. "Maybe you got too much sun. I _told_ you to wear a hat—"

"Shut up." Sasuke shoved Naruto back into a wave and walked away while the blond was still choking on water and picking seaweed out of his hair.

He hated the beach. He hated Konoha. He hated Naruto and his stupid _stupid_ piece of glass, and dammit he just wanted…he just _wanted_…

Sasuke closed his eyes against the sunset and slid a hand through his wet hair. A breeze ghosted across his skin, drying the salt on his chest and making him shiver. Warm arms suddenly pulled him back into a strong chest and Sasuke stiffened, but did not pull away.

Naruto nuzzled lazily at his ear and whispered, "All hidden treasures want to be found one day, ne Sasuke? I'm just really lucky to have found this one. So don't take it away from me yet, okay?"

Sasuke stifled a sigh as Naruto licked the sea salt from his shoulder and neck. The piece of glass in Naruto's fist rubbed slowly against his right nipple and Sasuke squirmed at the unintentional tease. Wet, blond locks tickled his neck as he arched back into Naruto's chest.

"Besides which," Naruto continued, "I think my treasure's really sexy."

"What are you talking about, usuratonkachi?" Sasuke gasped, rolling his hips as Naruto bit down on his collarbone and then licked at the red mark he'd made. "Glass can't be sexy."

"Shows what _you _know."

As Sasuke allowed himself to be pushed down into the soft sand, he reflected that while _being_ home was awful, coming home was still the best feeling in the world.

And he was going to kill Naruto for giving him this sunburn. Later.

--

fin.

* * *

_Any commentary is appreciated._  



	6. Mirage

Title: Mirage  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Genre: drabble, angst/drama  
Word Count: 302 words.  
Rating: PG 13  
Summary: There's something wrong with Sasuke, but Naruto doesn't know how to fix it.

--

Sasuke smiles and Naruto watches the expression for a few seconds, just to memorize the strangeness of eyes that aren't narrowed and suspicious, and lips that are curving gently and not lifting in a half-smirk, half-sneer…the way Sasuke's cheekbones are high and sharply defined.

And then Naruto frowns—because that's not Sasuke—and brushes his knuckles against pale skin to change the expression into something more familiar. This time Sasuke flushes and sighs and tilts his head back, so that Naruto can see the length of his neck disappearing into the wide collar of his shirt, so he can taste the hollow of his throat—the delicate collarbone—tip him slowly back onto the grass and run his fingers through unruly dark hair.

Sasuke's eyes are half-lidded, but alert and watching Naruto's movements and Naruto thinks this is better but still not quite right.

Clothing is removed. Thighs are gently parted and Naruto slips easily between them and is struck once again by how beautiful Sasuke really is, how slight his hips are, how the back of his head fits so well into Naruto's palm as he draws in closer for a kiss. And yet…

"I love you, Naruto."

The quiet words rip a painful sounding laugh from his throat, and Naruto tweaks a black lock of hair between his fingers with remorse before sending the same hand whistling through Sasuke's chest, diving wetly into flesh and muscle and bone for an instant before the body collapses into smoke.

Naked and alone, Naruto puts his head in his hands and sighs. In his memory, Sasuke stands over him shaking with cold laughter and dead eyes. Naruto reflects that in the end, this might have been the most accurate kage bunshin transformation thus far.

Something that disappears whenever Naruto tries to touch it.

--

fin.

--


	7. Halo

Title: Halo  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Style: drabble - 170 words  
Rating: PG-13 for implied adult situations  
Pairing: SasuNaru NaruSasu?  
Summary: Sasuke hates. Sasuke loves. Naruto falls.

--

Sasuke hates Naruto's hair, the golden mop of it spiking outwards into a frizzy, blond halo. He likes it much better when Naruto's locks darken with sweat and dust, and slightly tinged with blood.

Sasuke hates Naruto's smile—the one that leaves him open and innocent and vulnerable from too much caring. Naruto's smile says that he has too much faith in people. People who don't deserve it. People like Sasuke.

So Sasuke will taunt and push until Naruto is no longer smiling, until his mouth opens into that sharp-toothed snarl, and those angelic-blue eyes turn a hellish red. Sasuke will wait until Naruto's hands are clawing at his shoulders, and his body burns with something that is part hatred, part lust, and part hopelessness. Sasuke will wait for the black spiral to show itself on Naruto's belly before tracing it with his tongue, before worshipping with his lips.

It is only when Naruto lets the demon in him show that Sasuke can love him without feeling like he is truly damned.

--

fin.

--


	8. Dissolve

Title: Dissolve  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Genre: angst, smut  
Pairing: NaruSasu  
Rating: R  
Summary: Naruto doesn't know what they are anymore, but they aren't friends.

--

The problem is that they aren't friends anymore. Not in the way Naruto had always imagined friendship to be, and not in that way they were friends when Sasuke laughed at him in the valley and told him that Naruto was his _best_ and then ripped a hole in his chest.

They aren't much of anything anymore, because it's awkward whenever the remnants of Team Seven get together, and Naruto can't talk to Sasuke, and Sasuke refuses to talk to him, and there's only so many times Sakura can fill up the empty space with words.

They aren't lovers, because there's nothing like _love_ in what they do, or at least, not from Sasuke's side, and Naruto isn't that sure there's love from his side either. He knows that Sasuke is important—probably the most important person he's ever had and he can't stand to lose him again—but that's more to do with obsession than love and even Naruto can see that now.

They aren't rivals, because ever since the day Sasuke showed up wandering the outskirts of Konoha with Itachi's blood soaking his hair and shirt and hands, Naruto's been afraid to fight him. He's afraid to push Sasuke even a little, because what if Sasuke leaves again and this time there's no guarantee he'd stay alive long enough for Naruto to bring him back.

Sometimes, Naruto wonders if the person he brought back is really alive anyway. The wounded curve of Sasuke's shoulders and all the fucking silence…it burns him in a way that a chidori through his lung couldn't possibly match up to. Sasuke eyes are strangely dull and sometimes he looks at Naruto like he doesn't recognize him at all, like he doesn't know what the hell he's doing here.

Sometimes, Naruto wonders is Sasuke has already left him—so when Sasuke lets him in, when Sasuke pulls his mouth to his, like he's trying to reach inside Naruto with his tongue, Naruto lets him. And when Sasuke pulls him down onto the floor, not even bothering to drag them over to the couch, let alone the bedroom, and rips at Naruto's clothes like they personally offend him, he lets him do that too.

And when Sasuke strains against him like he's dying, Naruto holds on and whispers things into his ear that he's pretty sure Sasuke isn't hearing and wouldn't listen to if he was. Naruto holds on so tight, he leaves finger marks on Sasuke's back, his ribs, his hands—dark shadows like shackles that tie Sasuke to him so he can't escape, won't ever leave again. The whole time Sasuke never closes his eyes.

Naruto never opens his.

It's wrong, and strange, and sometimes it's fucking _painful_, and he knows he should stop, should tell Sasuke to stop. He thinks he will, every night. Every night when he shows up at Sasuke's door he's prepared. There's a whole speech that carefully outlines the things he and Sasuke can be to each other.

They can be friends, ones that talk and go for ramen and do all that 'friend' stuff that isn't scary and intense and fucked-up like they are. Or they can be rivals: Naruto's totally willing to kick the shit out of Sasuke every day if that's what it takes to keep him in Konoha where he belongs. Or let Sasuke beat the shit out of him, if that's what he needs.

Naruto's even willing to be lovers, because there's something in the moments directly after Sasuke's found his release, when his eyelashes flutter and his body relaxes for once, and Naruto can breathe into him like he's giving life, and Sasuke's lips part like he welcomes Naruto's breath inside him. There's something like love there—even if it's gone in the space of a second and Sasuke is kicking him off his body, kicking him out of his bed, an expression like carved stone on his face.

But they can't keep being this…this, whatever they are and Naruto's already to say so when Sasuke opens the door. And then Sasuke's hands are twining into his shirt and around his neck, and his body is pressed so close he can smell the soap on Sasuke's skin and everything he was going to say is gone.

"What are we?" he whispers in the heaving breaths of his climax. Sasuke's eyes burn into his, and he closes his lids to shield them, thrusting blindly.

"You're my best," Sasuke whispers back, and everything breaks and spins and dissolves like sugar in water and Naruto lets himself melt away and knows that this is never going to end.

--

fin.

--


	9. Kiss

Title: Kiss  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Genre: drabble, smut  
Pairing: NaruSasu  
Rating: R

--

Sasuke really liked kissing, although he would never tell Naruto that.

What he liked about kissing was the way it would always be a struggle, an ambush of lips and tongue and bumping chins. There was always a hard surface for Naruto to slam Sasuke's back against, to pin him down. If there wasn't, then he'd have to wrestle Sasuke to the ground--which might take longer but was ultimately more convenient, since they almost always ended up on the ground eventually.

Sasuke liked the way Naruto would stretch his arms above his head and pin him by the wrists in a bruising grip. It meant he didn't have to do anything except glare as Naruto took his mouth, and if the blond idiot wanted to slide his thigh up in between Sasuke's legs and press rhythmically with his knee while he explored Sasuke's tonsils, he didn't have to do anything about that either.

Except perhaps bite at Naruto's lower lip when he came.

But he did that because he wanted to.

--

fin.

--


	10. Grind

Title: Grind  
Author: desolate butterfly

Genre: drabble, smut  
Pairing: NaruSasu  
Rating: M

--

Sometimes Naruto liked it better when they didn't quite manage to get their clothes off before finishing.

He liked the rough slide of cloth against his skin as Sasuke pulled their hips together, and the way it was all just so suffocatingly hot. Sometimes he had to pause in marking Sasuke's neck with bruises to take a shuddering breath in the space next to Sasuke's forehead, where the air wasn't as thick and heavy.

He liked the scrabble and scratch of Sasuke's blunted nails against his back underneath his shirt, and the way there would just not be enough _time_ to pull down his underwear before Sasuke's hands wriggled its way inside his shorts and bumped impatiently against his own tight fist.

He liked the violent rocking motion they used as they strained together, clinging desperately to the clothing still wrapped around each other's bodies.

He liked releasing into his hand and Sasuke's hand and not knowing where one began and the other ended.

He liked soaking through the expensive and rich fabrics of Sasuke's shirt and pants, seeing the wetness spread across it in a distinctive creamy stain.

He liked making Sasuke come in his pants and he liked peeling the sticky clothes off him to clean him, with mouth or cloth depending upon his mood.

It was messy and impulsive and raw and Naruto decided that it suited them just fine.

--

fin.

--


	11. Pulse

Title: Pulse  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Genre: drabble, smut, angst  
Pairing: SasuNaru  
Rating: M

--

There's something off about Naruto's pulse, the way the beats aren't ever steady, and how it throbs and races at the smallest things.

Sasuke doesn't even have to try anymore to quicken the blood pumping through Naruto's heart. A flicker of fingernails against an open shirt collar. A slight shifting of the thighs. An arching of the back. Sasuke could rub his thumb in slow circles on the soft skin of Naruto's inner wrist and immediately elicit an alarming jump in the vein at Naruto's throat.

It's dangerous, in some ways. Sasuke knows that normal humans can't survive with a heart rate that quick. But he can't deny how powerful it makes him feel, to scrape his fingers across Naruto's back and get the same effect as if he'd just sucked him off. And Naruto always looks so healthy anyway...

Some nights Sasuke lies with his head on Naruto's chest, counting the dull swift thuds that reverberate in his ear like drumming.

He doesn't tell Naruto that those are the nights he doesn't sleep at all.

--

fin

--


	12. Insomnia

Title: Insomnia  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Genre: drabble, tiny bit o' angst  
Pairing: NaruSasu/SasuNaru  
Rating: PG  
Summary: These aren't the bedtime problems Sasuke thought he'd be having after coming back to Konoha.

--

Sasuke awoke for the third time that night with a prickle of awareness along the back of his neck. He cracked an eyelid open and groaned, turning over on his stomach.

"Go to _sleep_ Naruto," he muttered. "Or quit staring at me so that _I_ can sleep."

The blond beside him shifted guiltily but the blue eyes only flickered away from him for a fraction of a second before fixing back on the space between his shoulder blades.

"Sorry," Naruto mumbled, fingers twitching against the coverlet.

Sasuke closed his eyes again and took one deep breath...two...

The prickle of awareness raised the short hairs on his arms and at his nape again. Sasuke sat up with a muttered curse and dragged his cot closer to Naruto's, then tossed one leg over the side to brush against the other boy's calf.

He twisted their hands together and laid back down with a huff.

"There. I'm not going anywhere without you noticing, dumbass. Go to _sleep_."

The dark circles around Naruto's eyes faded a little when he smiled. The fingers wrapped around Sasuke's palm squeezed briefly.

"Thanks, Sasuke," the blond whispered, before closing his eyes.

Sasuke waited until Naruto's breathing was deep and even before closing his own eyes, wondering how long it would take before Naruto trusted him enough to sleep through the night without wondering if Sasuke would still be there in the morning.

--

fin.

--


	13. Come Undone

Title: Come Undone  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Genre: drabble, smut  
Pairing: SasuNaru  
Rating: R  
Summary: Sasuke likes to hear Naruto come, but Naruto isn't exactly obliging.

--

Despite being a loudmouth nearly everywhere else, Naruto is surprisingly quiet in bed.

If left unprompted, Naruto would come with little more than a shuddered sigh and a few restless whimpers to show it. Sasuke prompts him though, because he needs it—needs to hear that he's doing things right, that he's not messing stuff up. Sasuke needs the validation of Naruto's voice just as much as he needs the thighs grasping around his hips and the hands twisting through his hair.

So Sasuke will ask—will _command_ Naruto to speak, his mouth poised above Naruto's lips to catch and taste the words he wants to hear.

"Say it," he'll whisper, biting down viciously on Naruto's bottom lip, drawing blood. "_Say it._"

The results aren't as extreme as Sasuke might want. Naruto won't scream, refuses to. But he'll stutter out the syllables of Sasuke's name inside of a broken moan, or mutter '_Ah God'_ into Sasuke's hair before releasing with a muted hum of contentment.

One time Sasuke managed to startle an exclamation of _'fuck!'_ from Naruto's lips with a strategic tilt of the hips at just the right moment and some nails raking up the other boy's back, but it hasn't happened since.

Sasuke keeps trying though.

He figures there are worse things he could strive for.

--

fin.

--


	14. Ties that Bind

Title: Ties That Bind  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Genre: drabble, angst  
Pairing: NaruSasu  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Naruto pushes too far and too fast, but that's what Sasuke needs from him.

--

"Sasuke-kun, are you feeling okay? You look pale."

Sakura's eyes are worried and her hands are pale and slim on his arm. Too delicate. Too fragile. He could break her wrist with such little effort. He shrugs her off instead and delivers his best neutral look.

"Don't concern yourself," he says. "I'm fine."

She's unconvinced but unwilling to push him. When he turns from her and walks away, she doesn't even try to halt his progress.

--

Kakashi corners him later, as much as a man leaning against a tree with his nose in a book can "corner" a person. Sasuke's legs itch to run, but somehow he can't when Kakashi's eyes are on him, so instead he slouches and scowls and grits his teeth.

"Sakura is worried about you," Kakashi says, as blandly as if he were commenting on the weather.

Sasuke's hands twitch and he shoves them deep in his pockets. He sneers.

"She worries a lot. Usually over nothing."

Kakashi closes his book with a snap and gives Sasuke a "look" that clearly says that Sasuke is a horrible liar.

"I'm worried too," the masked jounin states, hand darting out to lift Sasuke's chin.

Sasuke bristles at the touch but doesn't move, waiting for Kakashi to look him over. Apparently the answer isn't clearly written there in his face because Kakashi has to ask.

"What's wrong Sasuke?"

"Nothing. Mind your own business." Sasuke holds his breath while Kakashi considers him, practically leaning in to those fingers on his chin. When Kakashi lets go he has to swallow his disappointment.

As Kakashi leaves him he says over his shoulder that he can't help Sasuke if he doesn't want it.

The despair that comes with that realization almost brings Sasuke to his knees. He runs instead.

--

"Hey asshole!"

Naruto's fingers dig into his skin and Sasuke bucks and kicks, trying to force him off. He gets in a vicious strike to Naruto's ribs and hears something crack with extreme satisfaction, but Naruto only winces and holds him tighter.

He's yelling in Sasuke's ear. "You've been acting stupid all day and you made Sakura-chan cry, so you'd better tell me what the hell's wrong with you right now!"

Sasuke wrenches to the side and gathers his knees into his chest, ready to push Naruto away with both feet. Naruto's knee is in his gut before he can finish the movement, pinning him down.

"Fuck off," Sasuke hisses, spitting in Naruto's face. The blond's eyes narrow in anger, but he doesn't let Sasuke go, and he presses even harder, and breathes hot, laboured breaths on Sasuke's cheek.

"No," Naruto says, and he means it.

_'This is why,'_ Sasuke thinks as he readies himself for the fight; flexes to test the inexhaustible energy in Naruto's hold. _'This is why, Naruto, to me you're the one who is…'_

"Sasuke, tell me what's wrong with you right now, or I'll break your arms and _make_ you tell me!"

_'My closest friend.'_

--

fin.

--


	15. Reciprocity

Title: Reciprocity  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Genre: yaoi, smut  
Rating: M  
Pairing: NaruSasu/SasuNaru  
Summary: Naruto teaches Sasuke the art of reciprocity in the best way.

--

It was the best blow job ever.

Which didn't really mean anything because pretty much ANY contact between Sasuke's mouth and his cock would constitute the best blow job ever, even if Sasuke was sucking just a bit too hard and not using his hands enough and really he could press his tongue up against the underside agai—_oh fuck, just like that!_

Best. Blow job. _Ever._

Naruto laughed and it broke off into a moan as Sasuke's lips moved sloppily over the head and it was so hot and wet and Sasuke's chin was bumping against him and he really had to remember to ask for this more often.

And by "ask" he meant "pester Sasuke with promises of reciprocity until he gives in".

"Uh…Saaa…I'm…"

Okay, it was getting difficult to form words. Which was oh so good in one way because it meant Sasuke was doing _that thing_ with his tongue again, but really bad in the sense that Naruto was going to—

His hips jerked forward in the only warning he could manage and Sasuke was a little too late as he sprang backwards, mouth pulling off of Naruto with a wet pop. A second later, Naruto opened his eyes to a murderous looking Sasuke, who had numerous white strings of come dripping down his cheek and in his hair.

"Erm…sorry?" Naruto panted, with a small grin, because he couldn't really bring himself to be sorry. Not with the pleasure of his orgasm still thrumming through his body, and certainly not at the sight of Sasuke wearing the cheaper version of a pearl necklace.

Even if Sasuke looked like he was going to kill him any second now.

"_Naruto…_"

The blond held his hands up in a pacifying gesture and then wondered if he should be placing them in front of his groin instead. He was in a somewhat vulnerable position.

"Now, wait, Sasuke you can't be mad," he pleaded. "I tried to warn you!"

"You didn't try very hard," the Uchiha sneered, wiping come from his cheek and staring at his hand in mild disgust.

Naruto frowned back in indignation.

"I did so!" he retorted. Then he leered. "It's not my fault if your mouth on my dick makes me incoherent."

It was still amusing to see Sasuke squirm and look uncomfortable when he talked dirty to him. As if he hadn't just wrapped his lips around Naruto's cock and brought him to orgasm.

It was even more amusing to see Sasuke's expression once Naruto picked up the hand Sasuke had wiped Naruto's come off with and sucked the fingers into his mouth with a wet slurp. The slightly bitter taste of himself on Sasuke wasn't really appealing, but it was so worth it.

Sasuke's eyes widened and the pulse in his wrist started to throb quick-paced under Naruto's fingers. He gasped.

"What are…_what are you doing_, idiot?" he demanded, a little breathless as Naruto abandoned the fingers and started to lap at the sticky shine on Sasuke's cheeks and chin.

"Cleaning you up," he said, only it came out more as a growl.

Sasuke was quiet as Naruto went about clearing the come from his face and hair—the hair was tricky. He'd had to clear some out with his fingers and then suck on the strands. The black locks still clumped together tackily but Sasuke wasn't complaining—and held very still.

He spoke up, however, when Naruto tugged down his shorts and started licking at Sasuke's semi-hard cock. Actually he squeaked.

It was the cutest sound Naruto had ever heard.

"I-I'm not dirty there, moron" the Uchiha protested, but threaded his fingers into the hair at the back of Naruto's neck and pushed insistantly into his mouth anyway.

Naruto grinned around Sasuke's cock. _'Yes you are, bastard.'_

Obviously he was going to have to do a better job of teaching Sasuke this reciprocity thing.

And show that he was totally better at giving blow jobs.

"Nnngh…_Naruto!_"

Oh yes.

--

fin.

--


	16. Grip

Title: Grip  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Genre: smut, drabble  
Pairing: SasuNaru  
Rating: R

--

Naruto thinks that it must be frustrating for Sasuke that he heals so quickly.

The fox-demon's chakra rarely allows the bruises Sasuke puts on his body stay for more than a few minutes at most—-whether they are from closed fists and sharp kicks, or the purplish mottled markings that result from Sasuke's mouth on his skin, long fingers digging into his arms as he gasps and rubs and arches against him.

It isn't quite fair, because the bruises where Naruto's lips have sucked stay visible on Sasuke's body for days, and Naruto never gets tired of tracing them with his fingertips and gloating over them until they fade and he puts them back again.

Which is why Naruto can't really reproach Sasuke for biting down just a bit too hard on his shoulder when he comes, or for the nails that dig so tightly and painfully into his arm as Sasuke strains above him. He won't say anything when Sasuke twists his fingers into the pendant resting in the hollow of Naruto's throat and tugs, snapping the fragile string in a violent punctuation to a thrust.

Necklace strings can be replaced, and Naruto's not missing out on the bewildered and needy expression on Sasuke's face when he comes for _anything_.

--

fin.

--


	17. Concern

Title: Concern  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Genre: drabble, fluff?   
Pairing: SasuNaru  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Naruto gets himself hurt like an idiot, but Sasuke doesn't care.

--

Sasuke isn't worried at all.

After all, it's Naruto and he's always okay, even if he stupidly drank alcohol laced with poison after Sasuke expressly _told_ him not to trust the villagers here for a second. Naruto's always okay and the poison will burn its way out of his body with no problem because that stupid nine-tails chakra has to be good for _something_.

In the meantime, it's just easier to place a bucket in Naruto's arms while he pukes and Sasuke's only brushing the sweaty clumps of hair back from his face so that the idiot doesn't make a mess and complain later on.

And it's much easier to pin Naruto to the bedroll when the fever starts and the moron flails stupidly and calls for Sasuke even when he's—_right there so lie still, idiot, before you hurt yourself._ The seal is black and obvious on Naruto's stomach and Sasuke silently curses the nine-tails for taking its sweet time.

Then Naruto is quiet and Sasuke's still not worried but it's not a great sign when the idiot isn't being loud like usual. The blonde's eyes are open, but Sasuke has a feeling they aren't seeing him anymore. Sasuke's silent curses become louder as he tears strips from Naruto's shirt and dunks them in canteen water. The wet rags do nothing but soak the bangs on Naruto's forehead and send droplets trickling down around his ears to pool on the pillow.

Sasuke takes Naruto's wrist in his hands and finds the pulse throbbing quickly underneath his fingertips. He counts the beats and wonders where the hell Sakura is with those herbs because he has no idea what the fuck he's counting for and Naruto's never had a normal heartbeat _anyway_.

Then Naruto's eyes are closing, and Sasuke calls him every single insulting name that he knows, and a few that he makes up on the spot just to explore the sheer _idiocy_ of his team mate at this moment. He shakes Naruto by the shoulders once…twice…

And then the seal is fading and the sweat pours off Naruto's skin as the fever breaks. Sasuke sighs and uses the rag on Naruto's forehead to wipe at his neck and cheeks. Then he kicks the peacefully sleeping boy, just a little, in the ribs.

Naruto grumbles, but doesn't awaken.

Sasuke resists the urge to kick him again, just on principle.

When Sakura returns with the antidote a few minutes later, Naruto is already sitting up and complaining of hunger pangs. When she calls him an idiot, Sasuke can only agree—from the other side of the room.

--

fin.

--


	18. Seduction

Title: Seduction  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Genre: smut  
Pairing: NaruSasu  
Rating: R  
Summary: Naruto comes home after a mission and manages to fail at interpreting signals almost as much as Sasuke fails at giving them.

--

The mission had been hard and messy and tiring, and as he slid the key into the lock of the flat he shared with Sasuke, Naruto contemplated that he'd like nothing more than to take a shower, scarf down some cup-ramen, and then pester his not-boyfriend until the adrenaline wore off enough that he could sleep.

Which was why he was kind of shocked when, upon entering the house and greeting Sasuke, the Uchiha's first response was to get up from his chair and head straight into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

'_Shit,'_ Naruto cursed, silently. _'Wonder what he's pissed off about this time?'_

The sound of the shower was heard a second later, and Naruto looked ruefully at his mud-streaked hands and vest and itched at the dried sweat that was matting his bangs to his forehead. Whatever Sasuke was mad about, he hoped he'd get over it in time for Naruto to grab a shower himself.

He stripped off his weapons pack and vest, chucking both of them into the laundry room to clean later, then he went into the kitchen and scrubbed his hands and face free of the grime as best he could. On the table was one slightly cold cup of broth and noodles and Naruto brightened at the sight of it.

'_Sasuke kept dinner for me,'_ he thought, happily scooping a pair of chopsticks from the drawer and digging in. As he chewed and slurped the salty noodles and broth, he wandered into the main hallway, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Maybe he's pissed because the mission took longer than I said it would," he muttered to himself, shaking his head. It was ridiculous to think about, because they both knew that there was no point in counting on a mission to end at a specific time. Sometimes shit happened, and you had to deal with it. It was part of being a ninja.

Then again, it was _Sasuke_. And Sasuke could get pissed for the silliest reasons: like the time Naruto had left his dirty dishes in the sink instead of rinsing them and stacking them neatly back into the cupboard again; or when he'd invited Lee, Kiba, and Chouji over for a Guy's Night without asking him first. Although, Naruto was pretty sure that Sasuke wouldn't have been half so angry if it hadn't been for the fact that Lee had accidentally ingested some of the special liqueur chocolates that he'd brought back from Rock Country to give Sakura-chan.

Replacing all their furniture and fixing that one wall had been time-consuming and expensive and it had taken Naruto a while to get back into Sasuke's…well, not _good_ graces. More like his I-don't–want-to-kill-you-as-soon-as-I-look-at-you graces.

But being mad because he was a few hours later than he said he'd be in coming back from a mission? That was extreme, even for Sasuke.

Dumping the empty cup into the trash, Naruto sat down against the wall across from the bathroom and jiggled his leg impatiently. It had been at least fifteen minutes since Sasuke had turned on the shower. How much time was he planning on spending in there anyway?

Another five minutes rolled by and Naruto was starting to feel a little pissed off as well. What right did Sasuke have to be mad at him anyway? He'd been out doing his job, working to pay half the rent for god's sake! He'd been out slogging around in the dirt and heat, pulling some moronic diplomats out of trouble each and every time they decided to try and get themselves killed. He'd made it to Hanasaki Village with all persons in his party accounted for and no critical injuries, and then he'd made it back to Konoha in one piece. What more did Sasuke want from him?

Ten minutes, and Naruto began to thump his foot against the wall, expression turning sour.

"You'd better not be using up all the hot water in there Sasuke, or I'll kick your ass," he yelled through the wood panelling.

Two seconds after that, the door swung open violently and a bucket sailed through the air, hitting Naruto on the shoulder and sending freezing cold water cascading down his shirtfront and into his lap. He sat there, mouth open in a wordless cry, as a towel wrapped Sasuke stomped out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam, eyes glaring daggers.

He made it to just inside the bedroom door before Naruto tackled him and dragged him back out into the hallway by his ankles. Twisting to dodge the vicious punch Sasuke sent whistling towards his face, Naruto grabbed him by the wrists and pinned him to the floor, jabbing his knee up into Sasuke's ribs.

"What the hell Sasuke?" he shouted, moving his chin up quickly as Sasuke jerked upwards for a head-but. "What the fuck's your _problem?_"

"My problem is _you_, idiot," Sasuke snarled back, landing a kick on the back of Naruto's thigh, which he took with a wince and a growl. "Let me go!"

"You know what? I don't freaking understand you at all. I come home from a tough mission and all I want to do is shower and go to bed, and there's you acting all pissy and taking all the hot water, and then acting like _I_ did something wrong. Screw you, Sasuke!" Naruto said, fingers digging harshly into the flesh of Sasuke's wrists for a second before letting go entirely and rolling off the other boy.

The towel that had already been loose around Sasuke's waist decided to catch on the button of Naruto's pants as he rolled, stripping the Uchiha in one quick movement. Angry as he was, Naruto felt his eyes automatically drop to Sasuke's exposed groin, like a reflex when faced with any possibility of catching the Uchiha naked when they weren't having sex.

He saw something that made him choke in surprise as Sasuke hastily pulled the towel back over his lap. Sasuke was_ half-hard._ His mouth dropped open and a flush rose to Sasuke's cheeks and across his neck in response to Naruto's stare.

"S-Sasuke, you…"

"Shut up."

Sasuke was struggling to stand while still keeping both hands securely around the towel, the blush threatening to travel all the way down his chest. He was up on his knees until Naruto knocked him to the ground again, this time ripping the towel free before pinning his hands above his head.

"Naruto," Sasuke growled dangerously, "get off."

He grinned and bent to trail his tongue over the droplets of water still glistening on Sasuke's chest, lapping them up into his mouth with slow, teasing strokes.

"Sure," he agreed, placing a knee in between Sasuke's legs.

It took a few deep kisses, a thorough exploration of the wet redness of Sasuke's mouth with his tongue, before Sasuke slowly spread his legs wide enough for Naruto to cradle his still clothed hips against him.

The rub of the rough, wet cloth of his pants against Sasuke's naked skin made both of them groan out loud, and Naruto began to rock against him gently, teeth and tongue still marking out the territory of Sasuke's neck and chest.

"You know what Sasuke?" he said, between licks. "You really stink at seduction."

He felt hands scrabble at the hem of his shirt and sat back long enough to remove it, chucking it into the hallway somewhere. With his wrists now free, Sasuke reached up to draw his nails down Naruto's chest, dragging them sharply over a nipple, making him gasp.

"If you weren't so much of an idiot you would have gotten the message before I had to throw a bucket at your empty head," Sasuke muttered back.

Well, there was only one way to respond to something like that.

"A-ah—"

Naruto was extremely satisfied with the way he could make Sasuke writhe with just the right circular motion of his thumb on the head of Sasuke's cock. He started to wrap his palm around him when Sasuke's fingers on his wrist stopped him. He looked up, puzzled.

"What's wrong?"

Sasuke's breathing was just a touch erratic, but he still managed to sound mocking as he peered up at him.

"Weren't you saying that all you wanted was to shower and then sleep?"

"Well, you used up all the hot water anyway, so the shower will have to wait. And I'm not really as tired as I thought I was…" Naruto grinned. "But we can go to bed right now if you'd rather."

They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Sasuke pushed Naruto off him and stood up, turning on his heel to walk straight into the bedroom. Naruto crouched on the floor, watching his hips move with a smirk.

"You coming, idiot?"

Naruto followed immediately, smirk widening into a full-blown leer.

"I'd better be."

--

fin.

--


	19. Hold On To Nothing

Title: Hold on to Nothing  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Genre: angst  
Pairing: NaruSasu  
Rating: PG 13  
Summary: Naruto tries to fix Sasuke after the Fall, but it's not that easy.

--

_He's getting better_, Naruto thinks, and crunches the sand between his toes, digs into the warm dryness until his feet are half-buried in it.

A little ways down the shoreline, Sasuke is crouched ankle-deep in the water, arms open, fingers spread, as if to catch the water streaming through them. Naruto watches the idle grace of Sasuke's hands in the water and knows that they are capable of piercing through flesh and blood and bone in the same effortless movement. He brushes the thought away and it's much easier to concentrate on the sting of salt in his throat and the warm pressure of the sun on his head.

And Sasuke.

He hadn't been certain that this was a good idea, but the flicker of interest in Sasuke's ever-red eyes as they gaze out at the sea tells Naruto that he's made the right decision.

--

_He just needs to get out of this room_, Naruto told Kakashi that morning as he hooked an arm around Sasuke's midsection and pulled him out of bed.

He waited a few seconds, for Sasuke to jam a knee into his gut, or place his hands on Naruto's chest and shove him away. When those didn't come, Naruto set Sasuke carefully on his feet and pushed him towards the bathroom with an armful of clothes.

Kakashi watched and said nothing at all, but his silence sounded so much like doubt that Naruto was tempted to pick a fight with him over it. Instead, he busied himself with stuffing random items from Sasuke's dresser into his pack, as if there would be a desperate need for pencils and hand lotion later in the day.

"Where are you taking him?" Kakashi finally asked, after Sasuke emerged from the bathroom, dressed but unwashed and sweaty from too many days lying in bed.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the wrist and started walking him to the door. "We're going to the beach," he called over his shoulder, "so that I can totally beat Sasuke-_chan_ in a water fight!"

Naruto grinned, but Sasuke's expression wouldn't change. His eyes never focused on Naruto's face.

Naruto's grin turned into a grimace and he squeezed his fingers hard around Sasuke's wrist. He stopped when he felt the grind of bone beneath his thumbs, and released him with an apologetic brush against the bruises already smudged in a ring against Sasuke's pale skin.

Kakashi was still watching them. Naruto bared his teeth.

"Sakura-chan's coming with us," he lied.

Kakashi's eyebrows rose, but he stopped staring so intently at the place where Naruto had gripped Sasuke's arm and gave a small nod.

"Be careful," was all the jounin said, or it was all the Naruto was willing to listen to because he was out the door, Sasuke trailing after him with that same, blank expression. Those bloody dead eyes.

--

Naruto shuffles down the sand bank until he reaches the water, letting the waves lap wetly over his toes, washing the dirt away. He sits with his knees folded up against his chest--arms looped casually around his legs--and stares.

Sasuke is standing now, knee deep in the water, chin tilted up towards the sky.

Naruto follows his gaze and counts clouds…sea gulls…one, two, three.

The sun dips low behind one of the clouds, burning the edges a brilliant red colour, and it reminds Naruto of the cloak Sasuke came home with—the torn and blood-soaked red clouds, the ripped sleeves. Itachi's cloak.

He looks nervously at Sasuke, but the Uchiha's lips are gently quirked. The long pale fingers threading through the waves aren't twitching or digging into scarred skin.

_He's getting better,_ Naruto thinks again, letting a bit of relief show in his smile. _I _told _Sakura-chan it would be fine, that'd I'd get him back._

A wave slaps lightly against Sasuke's thighs, soaking his shorts and plastering them to his hips. Naruto frowns at the bony protrusions of those hips and thinks that he should have brought a lunch with them.

_'Ramen,'_ he decides. _'When we get back. Sasuke needs to eat more.' _

But at the moment it's nice to watch the line of Sasuke's back, when it isn't propped against pillows in a hospital bed. It's nice to watch Sasuke's eyes stare at something besides the ceiling, even if they are still tainted with the sharingan.

And Sasuke's smiling. He's _smiling_.

The laugh bubbles up from Naruto's throat and he hides it in his arms and chest, ducking his head down so that no one will be able to hear how much laughter sounds like crying.

"See Sakura-chan," Naruto whispers into his knees as he rubs the salt from his cheeks. "I kept my promise. I did."

The sun is warm on his face and Naruto closes his eyes just for a second.

--

When he opens them, Sasuke's gone.

In a second he's diving into the water, grasping through the waves for Sasuke's hand, his shirt. He catches hold of some hair and yanks upwards with all his might. The strands slip through his fingers like seaweed and he curses and tries again.

The second time, Sasuke's head breaches the surface and Naruto drags him coughing and writhing to the shore.

For a few moments it's like those three years never happened, as Sasuke struggles and kicks and swears underneath Naruto's hold. A solid punch lands on Naruto's jaw and he tastes blood in his mouth, salt stinging at the corners of his lips.

"God dammit, _Sasuke!_"

Naruto presses Sasuke into the soft sand, hands pinning him at the wrists, and shouts, but it's already over. Sasuke grows still beneath him and the fury in his eyes fades as he slips out of reach again.

"Let go," Sasuke says, voice calm, face serene and Naruto just wants to hurt him until he can't make that face anymore.

Instead, he hauls Sasuke up into a sitting position—his hands still clamped tight around Sasuke's wrists—and presses his mouth hard to Sasuke's in a touch that's more bite than kiss.

There is no resistance to the tongue Naruto thrusts past Sasuke's lips. He gnaws viciously on Sasuke's lower lip then pulls away, snarling. Sasuke stares past him at the sand, as if to say '_What did you expect?'_

They stay in that position until the sun is well below the horizon, and it starts to get cold. Then Naruto pulls Sasuke to his feet and proceeds to walk him home.

They take their time.

Naruto is in no hurry to see Kakashi once more and hear another silent lecture on all the things he isn't supposed to do.

Like hope.

--

Fin.

--


	20. Tableau

Title: Tableau  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Genre: Gen, drabble, fluff  
Pairing: hints of NaruSasu + Kakashi  
Rating: G  
Summary: Kakashi spies on Naruto and Sasuke on a nice autumn day. Inspired by that pic of Naruto and Sasuke asleep in a pile of leaves. XD

--

From his position in the tree, Kakashi couldn't get a good enough view of Sasuke's lips to determine just what he said in order to make Naruto scoop a handful of leaves from the ground and chuck them at the other boy's face as hard as he could.

He did hear Naruto's angry cry when he shoved the bundle of dry foliage and twigs down Sasuke's shirt, and the sound of the Uchiha coughing as he spit one of the leaves from his mouth.

For a second, things were still and both Kakashi and Naruto watched Sasuke carefully. Kakashi saw the boy's hands tremble and wondered if he would have to intervene before they hurt each other too badly, but then Sasuke surprised him by scooping up his own pile of leaves and proceeding to stuff them forcibly into the collar of Naruto's jacket.

Soon there was a flurry of boy-limbs and leaves as the two proceeded to act like typical twelve-year-olds on a crisp autumn day, complete with shouted insults and bravado and gloating when a good shot connected. Kakashi pulled his book out of his pocket and read a bit while he waited for them to tire themselves out.

After a while, the noise of the leaf fight reduced to quiet rustling and harsh breathing, and then silence. Kakashi put his book away and dropped down from his perch.

The boys had either exhausted themselves so much that they had collapsed into sleep, or a few stones had accompanied the leaf projectiles to the head. Either way, Kakashi decided that they looked rather cute like that, lying close together and covered in leaves.

He picked some of the red and brown crumpled bits from Naruto's hair, and brushed the leaves off Sasuke's chest before rolling the boy onto his side and off an uncomfortable looking rock. Sasuke didn't wake, but he did bring his arms up to his chest, curling his hands into fists and leaning closer to Naruto's warmth.

Kakashi smiled and ruffled Naruto's hair one last time before rising and strolling back in the direction of the house, leaving them to their sleep. It wasn't too cold out yet, and they would wake up on their own soon enough anyway.

--

fin.

--


	21. Tension

Title: Tension  
Author: desbutterfly  
Genre: smut  
Pairing: NaruSasu  
Rating: M, frottage  
Summary: Naruto and Sasuke find a different way to relieve tension. But "different" doesn't always mean "better".

--

Sasuke braced his elbows on the counter behind him and gripped the sleeves of Naruto's unzipped jacket, trying to get their bodies aligned, even though the height difference was making it impossible. 

His back ached, where the edge of the counter cut into the space right above his hips, and he was trying to scramble forward to ease that except Naruto was in the way, pushing his knees against his thighs and biting at the soft skin below his ear.

Sasuke shifted and his elbow dug into a sweaty chest.

Naruto growled and shoved their hips together.

"You're so bony," he complained.

Sasuke glared back and dug a hand into the back pocket of the other boy's pants, dragging him closer. The friction against his groin made his eyes flutter shut for a second, and he ground his hips experimentally.

"Just shut up," he said, through clenched teeth, trying to move faster, but finding it too awkward in that position. Like hell if he was going to suggest that they move to a bed like some goddamn _girl_, though. Here was fine. Here was great and if he could just get some pressure right _there_—

"Fuck, fuck…" Naruto's lips were moving against Sasuke's neck and his grip on Sasuke's hips tightened. He could feel the other boy's erection against his thigh, not quite where he wanted it to be rubbing against, hot and dampening the fabric between them and he pushed his flushed cheek against Sasuke's shoulder.

"Sasuke," he whined. "Sasuke, c'mon. Let me take your pants off."

"No," Sasuke snapped, eyebrows drawing together. Getting naked was too much like fucking. And they _weren't_ fucking. This was just to relieve some tension, the same tension that he would have been able to get rid of if he'd punched Naruto instead, except that Naruto was an idiot and he screwed their fight up by kissing him—sloppily, Sasuke wanted to add—and so this would have to do.

And they weren't fucking. And why was he still _talking? _

"Sasuke, this isn't working—"

"Shut _up_." He grabbed the hard lump between Naruto's legs and gave it a firm squeeze, cheeks flushing a bit when the blond arched into his hand and cried out. "The hell it's not."

"Yeah," Naruto said. "Yeah, okay but I could make it feel better if you'd just let me—"

"Are you complaining?" Sasuke hissed. "Because I can leave right now."

That was a lie. There was heat pooling in his groin, and sweat-damp cloth roughening the slide against his cock, and a heaviness in his head, making him dizzy and Sasuke wasn't going anywhere.

Neither was Naruto.

"Fine," the blond said, teeth bared as he took his hands from where they were groping up Sasuke's shirt and placed them underneath Sasuke's ass, lifting them into alignment so that he couldn't do anything but wrap his legs around Naruto's hips and _ride_.

"You. Are. So. Damn. _Bitchy_," Naruto said, a hard thrust punctuating each word and the seam of his pants was catching on the head of his cock now and it _hurt_ but he wasn't stopping he was— "_Fuck_, Sasuke you'd better be coming too."

"Idiot," Sasuke breathed, not willing to mention that he had come the second his feet had left the floor. Instead he let his legs dangle as Naruto shook through his climax, pointed chin resting uncomfortably on the blonde's head. He balanced his hands awkwardly on Naruto's shoulders, not knowing quite where to put them.

When it was over there was a sticky mess of soiled clothing between them, and Naruto lowered Sasuke to the floor looking rather sheepish and uncertain. Sasuke refused to meet his eyes.

"I'm going to take a shower," he muttered, stomping off towards the bathroom, leaving Naruto alone in the kitchen holding his sticky pants away from his skin.

The blond stared after him, a frown on his face. His hands smelled like Sasuke. He rubbed them on his shirt and wiped the cooling sweat from his forehead.

"Yeah," he said to nobody. "Okay."

Except it wasn't.

--

fin.

--


	22. Breaking the Rules

Title: Breaking the Rules  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Genre: smut  
Pairing: SasuNaru  
Rating: M for oral sex  
Summary: Sasuke has rules. Too bad Naruto thinks they're stupid and not worth following.

--

Naruto was frowning at him now, like he'd just told him he wasn't allowed to eat ramen for a year or something. Stupid. Why was he looking so disappointed? It's not like Sasuke was ever going to return the favour so…

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want you to," Sasuke said, frowning back and shifting a bit from where Naruto already had his hand halfway past the waistband of his shorts. "Is that so hard for your tiny brain to understand?"

The blond growled and scraped his blunted nails up Sasuke's stomach, making him wince. He tried to ignore the way his pants gaped open at the front, or the prominent bump straining against the crotch of Naruto's pants in front of him. When Naruto removed his hand entirely, he tried _very_ hard not to feel disappointed.

"Fuck Sasuke, that's not what you were saying last time," Naruto argued, pressing his hands to the wall, just above Sasuke's shoulders. "I know you fucking liked it when I went down on you. You moaned loud enough when I—"

"Shut _up_."

Feeling penned in, he slapped Naruto's right hand away, cheeks warming in an unwanted flush. That had been the _problem_. He'd liked it, liked Naruto's mouth when it was doing anything other than talking, and it had been _embarrassing_ making those noises….And Naruto, the fucking bastard, he'd _grinned_ like he was going to hold it over Sasuke for years.

Oh no, there was _no way_ he was letting dead last put his mouth on his cock ever again.

"So what am I supposed to do then?"

Sasuke scowled and pushed off from the wall. "Use your hands, idiot. Or just forget it. I can go jerk off by myself—"

Naruto caught him by the collar and shoved him back up against the wall, lips pressing to Sasuke's mouth in a bruising, sloppy kiss. It didn't feel good. Sasuke pushed back against it anyway, wanting to hurt Naruto just as much with his mouth. They struggled together-- Naruto's teeth sinking into Sasuke' lower lip, Sasuke trying to push his tongue in past those clenching teeth, fill his throat with it.

Finally they broke apart, Naruto panting slightly, his eyes darkened and focused. Sasuke looked away and turned his head, suddenly self-conscious. He rubbed at his lips with his fingers, feeling saliva and a slight puffiness that meant they would be sore later. Right now, he didn't care.

"So," he said, voice hoarse, "you going to do it?"

He felt a hand above his hip, and then his shorts and underwear were being tugged down, just enough to free his erection. He turned his head back to watch as Naruto took hold of him with a sweaty hand. He sighed softly as that hand began to move.

"'Course I'm going to do it," Naruto was saying, circling the head of Sasuke's cock slowly with his thumb. "Always want to touch you. But I think it's the stupidest rule you've ever made. You loved that blowjob I gave you last time, and you'd love it again if I put my mouth on you…right. Here."

His nail swiped over the slit and Sasuke jerked forward, eyes closing. They snapped open quickly though, when Naruto sank to his knees. He grasped Naruto by the hair and _yanked_.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, retard? _I said no._"

"Shit, OW." Naruto lifted his head, teeth bared in a snarl. "Fuck, Sasuke let go. I'm not going to put my lips on your cock unless you beg me to, I promise. Even if it's the stupidest thing I ever heard of. Okay?"

Sasuke watched him through narrowed eyes, not trusting but_--still_ _urgently hard and in need of attention so_--he grunted and then relaxed the hand in Naruto's hair, head falling back against the wall.

"Not gonna beg you for anything, ever," he muttered as Naruto squeezed him in a tight fist and began moving his hand again in a slow, steady rhythm.

The blond only laughed lowly as he went a bit faster, other hand bracing itself against Sasuke's hip, digging his nails into the skin there. "Wouldn't count on that," he said, leaning forward and letting his warm breath ghost over the head of Sasuke's cock.

Sasuke's hand left Naruto's hair entirely to press down on his shoulder, fingers bruising, clenching. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"Nothing." More breath on his cock. Naruto was teasing him, that's what. Because god forbid the moron not get his way _every damn time._

"Don't…" A tight squeeze left Sasuke forgetting what he had been about to say. His head rolled back and then forward as he rocked his hips into Naruto's hands.

Naruto was grinning again. Even with his eyes closed, Sasuke could tell. His lips twisted into a frown. Naruto's hand left his hip and reached up to slide under Sasuke's shirt, sliding quickly over stomach and chest, fingers stopping to rub or tweak a nipple.

He still had his mouth dangerously close to Sasuke's cock. Sasuke forced his eyes open just in time to see Naruto trace an idle pattern over the shaft and send another stream of warm air flowing over the reddened tip.

"Naruto—"

"Relax," the blond growled. "I'm not breaking your stupid rule. Just shut up and enjoy this." He stroked hard, and Sasuke bit down on his lip and tried to smother the undignified noise that tried to spill from his mouth. He wasn't fast enough, apparently, as Naruto repeated the motion with a satisfied smirk. "Or," he said, "you can not shut up, and just enjoy it anyway."

"Do _you_ ever shut up?" Sasuke said, gritting his teeth.

"Why should I?" Stroke, stroke, _squeeze_, pause. "It's not like you're letting me occupy my mouth at all. Or maybe…"

Naruto bent forward again, extending his tongue and licking a wet stripe up the underside of Sasuke's cock. Sasuke's eyes widened and his hands were on the back of Naruto's head, although he wasn't sure whether he was going to push the other boy away or keep him _right there_.

"You fucker I said no—"

"I'm not breaking the rules doing this either," Naruto said calmly, licking again, then lapping roughly at the head. "I promised that my lips wouldn't touch your cock. And they're not."

_'I meant tongue too, asshole,'_ Sasuke thought, but couldn't say because it was taking all his air to just keep breathing as the idiot swirled his tongue and then stabbed the wet tip of it into the slit.

He yanked at Naruto's hair instead but this time the blond didn't seem inclined to stop and yell at him. He sped up the movements of his palm instead, tongue working over the head of Sasuke's cock with quick, flickering strokes.

"C'mon," he mumbled between licks. "I want to hear you."

"F-fuck you." It came out as a moan, and Sasuke removed his left hand from Naruto's hair and pushed it firmly into his own mouth, biting down on the fleshy part of his palm.

"Cheater," Naruto said, making his tongue move more roughly.

_'What does that make you?'_ Sasuke thought, groaning around his hand, hips thrusting helplessly. He was close, dammit, but not close enough to come. Naruto just wasn't moving fast enough, and he wanted…_shit_, he wanted to come in that mouth.

The hand on his dick paused, and Sasuke breathed noisily through his nose as Naruto straightened his back and pressed his cheek to Sasuke's stomach, his ear to Sasuke's chest.

"Your heart's beating so fast," Naruto whispered, sounding a bit in awe. "Like a rabbit's. I can feel it…"

Sasuke took his hand from his mouth, ignoring the already purpling bruises in the indents of his teeth. It was embarrassing. It would always be embarrassing, and he didn't care, and if he didn't come _now_ he was going to die anyway. Naruto could gloat for eternity, for all his body cared.

Shivering, Sasuke drew his hand across his face, breathing in sharply.

"Fine," he said. "If you want to humiliate me that badly, just do it and get it over with."

Naruto's head jerked against his chest, and soon Sasuke had an angry blond snarling in his face, hands completely removed from his cock and fisting themselves in his shirt.

"Is that what you think this is about? Humiliating you? Fuck you, Sasuke. It isn't about that."

"Then what is it about?"

Naruto sighed, his voice lowering, fingers relaxing in the fabric of Sasuke's shirt and starting to rub in a way Sasuke would kill himself before describing as soothing.

"It's about feeling good. And me _making_ you feel good…not so I can brag about it later! Just so I know that you like it and…" Naruto's voice trailed off, his lips pursing in a look of frustration and uncertainty.

Sasuke closed his eyes and pushed at Naruto's shoulders again. Slowly, the blond lowered to his knees, his fingers hesitant but warm as he fitted them around Sasuke's cock again.

"If you really don't want it, I won't do it," Naruto said.

Sasuke took a deep breath, then swallowed hard, his tongue feeling like a lead weight in his mouth. "I want you to," he said. "Do it."

Naruto nuzzled at Sasuke's cock, lips and cheek brushing against the hot length of it. "Don't wanna make you beg," he murmured. "Just need to know that you want it."

"I want it. Just…" And then, thankfully he didn't have to say any more, since Naruto's lips opened around the head of his cock and he was being drawn forward into his mouth. Sasuke gasped and tried to restrain himself from just thrusting forward, but he needn't have bothered. Naruto's hand was back on his hip, pulling him into his mouth and down his throat anyway.

"_Unngh._" The groan was loud and Sasuke _felt_ the smirk against his stomach but Naruto was swallowing too, and clenching all wet and tight and _hot_ around him and Sasuke didn't care anymore. And then he moved back and forward again, and Naruto gagged and drew back, coughing, and it was Sasuke's turn to smirk.

"Too much for you, dead last?"

"Shut up." Another cough, and then Naruto was enveloping him in wet heat again, his hands grasping and working whatever part of Sasuke he couldn't fit into his mouth until Sasuke was panting, open-mouthed, hips moving with abandon.

Hollowing his cheeks, Naruto sucked hard at the tip. Sasuke arched and came with a low, wordless moan, rocking frantically against Naruto's face. Naruto didn't choke this time when he swallowed, a dazed look on his face, cheeks flushed a bright red.

When Sasuke was drained entirely, Naruto licked his lips and stood back up, a little shakey, pressing his face into Sasuke's neck. Sasuke held onto him with trembling arms, the force of his orgasm making him extremely grateful for the wall. He probably would have fallen to the floor if not for the fact that he was pressed up between it and Naruto.

Naruto's lips pressed against Sasuke's neck, tongue licking at the quick throb of the pulse there.

"Rabbit," he whispered into the skin, and Sasuke rolled his eyes. Obviously Naruto should have something in his mouth at all times to keep him from saying retarded shit.

"Shut up, moron," Sasuke said, his hands pulling at Naruto's pants, a knee sliding firmly between Naruto's legs.

The blond parted his thighs easily, rubbing his groin against Sasuke's leg in unabashed pleasure,.

"Come on, Sasuke," he whined. "Touch me already."

Sasuke's fingers groped under the waistband of Naruto's pants and he stared hard at Naruto's face.

"I'm not going to blow you, so don't even think about it."

"Sure," Naruto replied, but there was cockiness in his grin, and it made Sasuke want to smack the look of his stupid face. He squeezed his hand harder than necessary instead, smirking at Naruto's pained squawk.

_'Serves you right,'_ he though as he started to stroke. He was the one in charge here.

_'And don't you forget it.' _

--

fin.

-- 


	23. Orestes Stranded

Title: Orestes Stranded  
Author: desolate butterfly  
Genre: angst  
Pairing(s): NaruSasu, mostly just Team 7 gen though  
Rating: PG - 13 for violence  
Summary: Team 7 gets an assignment to take down a murderer from another village.

--

Naruto wiped his hands on the grass, awkwardly trying to remove most of the blood and grime. Beside him, Kakashi spoke quietly into his headset, relaying co-ordinates for hunter-nins and the Komugigakure police force, not bothering to do anything about the spreading redness on his left sleeve.

It hadn't been that difficult to take the man down. Kakashi could have done it by himself, although it probably would have cost him more than just a cut on the arm. Still, Naruto had wanted…no, he'd _needed _to come. He'd needed to see what the kind of monster who would kill his own wife and children while they slept looked like.

The monster had looked surprisingly like an ordinary man—desperate, but ordinary. Once Kakashi had got close enough to pin him, he stopped fighting; practically pushed up into the chidori strike like he was glad for it.

It made Naruto sick enough to have to swallow back his bile, taste his own acids in his throat and feel them burn all the way down.

The entire trip back to the village was spent in silence. Kakashi was never one to offer his opinion anyway, and Naruto was too busy trying to think of what he could possibly say to the kid they'd left behind. The one with urine-soaked pajama-bottoms who'd burrowed into Sakura-chan's warm side as soon as she indicated that she would allow it. The one who'd hid under his bed after he woke to screaming, and had to step over his sister's flayed body in order to exit his room.

He couldn't even really give the kid the satisfaction of revenge, Naruto thought, bitterly. Couldn't go up to the child, wipe blood onto his cheeks and say _'here, we killed the bastard who slaughtered your family'_. Not when it was his father's blood staining his jacket and clumping under his fingernails.

He'd decided to hang back, let Kakashi explain things. He was going to keep silent and place his hands behind his back and try not to think about things too much until he was alone, or maybe until he could talk things over with Iruka-sensei and puzzle out what he really felt, and whether he could really do this job.

But then he saw the kid, all snotty and clinging to Sakura-chan's medic-skirt with a chubby fist. He let go though, when he saw Naruto and Kakashi approach, and there was some kind of pained communication silently taking place between Sakura-chan and Kakashi that Naruto couldn't decipher, and didn't really want to try. His eyes were on the kid.

He didn't even remotely look like Sasuke. He had light brown hair, and green eyes, and the soft rounded belly of a child who had yet to start Academy training. Nothing like Sasuke at all, except there was something in those down-turned, trembling lips that made Naruto think of another mouth screaming at him.

Green eyes burned black, then red.

Naruto knelt in the dirt and gathered the kid close to his chest, holding tight—much tighter than he should, 'cause he could hear the small bones creak against his arms, but soon there were fingers digging into the back of his neck hard enough to draw blood.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, to the kid, to Sasuke. Everybody. _'I'm sorry. I didn't understand. I didn't know.'_

"Mom's dead," the kid sniffled in his ear. "Rin and Tetsua too."

"Yeah."

"I hate him."

"…Yeah," Naruto said again, closing his eyes. "I know."

And he did know, now.

_'Better late than never, right? _

_Right? _

_Sasuke…'_

--

fin.

-- 


End file.
